Probably the most common way of protecting plants against damaging weather conditions and of inducing early maturity in young plants is by means of a greenhouse. Large greenhouse construction, however, is relatively expensive and the resultant structures are fixed and permanent in nature and do not lend themselves to field grown plants. For field grown plants needing protection and an environment which induces early maturity, it is common in the prior art to construct hot caps or tents, or small greenhouses, cold frames and similar structures in an extended arcuate configuration. Examples of such prior art structures are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,904,700 and 1,916,868 issued to Starks; U.S. Pat. No. 2,832,178 issued to Arthurs; U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,468 issued to deGraff; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,616 issued to Kozioi. While such prior art structures generally do an adequate job of protecting or covering the plants, there still exists a need for a simple low cost structure that can be assembled quickly by an unskilled person and that can be used as an extended structure for field grown plants and for the homeowner and small gardener while providing easy access to the plants for their tending; limited tending without access; and which can be readily converted to a hot cap or hot tent type structure or to a basic protective supporting structure. Accordingly, a desirable object of the present invention is to provide a plant protector structure which is readily adaptable to provide protection for row plants and individual plants during their early stages of growth, or provide a protective supporting structure for maturing or matured plants, flowers, shrubs or the like.
Another desirable object of the invention is to provide a plant shelter frame wherein the frame includes a transparent cover member arranged to protect young or growing plants from adverse conditions such as weather, insects or the like and means for dispensing water or nutrients to the plants without removing the cover to access the plants.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide a plant shelter frame and transparent cover member and which also includes apparatus for temperature control within the shelter.
A still further desirable object of the present invention is to provide a plant protector shelter which includes a transparent cover and apparatus which provides for easy attachment of the shelter cover therearound and for moving the cover from a position completely enclosing the shelter to position of partially opened or completely opened for desired effective ventilation.
A still further desirable object of the present invention is to provide a plant protector shelter that can be economically manufactured in a wide range of sizes and which is easy to assemble and disassemble.
Other desirable objects and advantages of the present invention will in part appear hereinafter and will in part become apparent after consideration of the specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.